Greece Plane Crash Kills 121, 48 Children

Associated Press ^ | Aug 14, 7:28 PM (ET) | ELENA BECATOROS

[zahal724]

GRAMMATIKO, Greece (AP) - A Cypriot plane full of vacationers slammed into a mountainside north of Athens on Sunday after at least one pilot lost consciousness from lack of oxygen, killing all 121 people aboard, more than a third of them children.

The cause of Greece's deadliest plane crash appeared to be technical failure - resulting in high-altitude decompression - and not terrorism, authorities said. A transport official said the 115 passengers and six crew may have been dead when the plane went down.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm not sure if I had to excerpt this, but just in case, I did.

[zahal724]

A man whose cousin was a passenger told Greece's Alpha television he received a cell-phone text message minutes before the crash. "He told me the pilots were unconscious. ... He said: "Farewell, cousin, here we're frozen," Sotiris Voutas said - indicating the plane was cold, a sign of decompression.

I dont know what to say.

[goodnesswins]

couldn't a terrorist act cause decompression?

[dawn53]

He said the jet pilots also saw two people possibly trying to take control of the plane; it was unclear if they were crew members or passengers

Not trying to wear a tin foil hat...but...how come some people were passed out and others weren't?

When a plane loses oxygen shouldn't all passengers be affected the same way?

[tomahawk]

How does decompression occur?

Is this a risk for every flight?

[zahal724]

Not necessarily, some people can still be conscious, but lightheaded. Kenyans train in higher altitudes for running, so that their lungs are really good when they race at sea level. I hope that makes some sense.

[longtermmemmory]

so could human stupidity.

Greek TV had a mother screaming at the airline desk. It was heartbreaking.

This reminds me of that Hawaii Air flight were the entire roof of the cabin was torn off. The plane held together and the pilot was able to bring it in.

[satchmodog9]

The only ones who thought or hoped it was terrorism were the media. I am really tired of hearing about the children who were lost. This was a horrible loss of life and it really does not matter how old they were. It is sad and tragic any way you slice it. How can one say a childs death is any more tragic than a thirty year old who just got the promotion of his life and found out he is going to be a father. They were both cut down too early. Life is life and it is all sacred. To put greater value on one group verses another takes away from the overall value of life. God bless their souls, big and small.

[satchmodog9]

My neighbor was on that flight when I was in high school. That flight had a better outcome for a majority of the passengers.

[Iam1ru1-2]

"How does decompression occur?"

It can be caused through terrorist activity, but I don't know what they would have gained from downing a Greek Airliner. Unless the Islamo-fascists are going after anybody that isn't Muslim. After all, they're going after people of their own faith who don't strictly adhere to THEIR terrorist viewpoint.

A door involuntarily opening would cause instant and rapid decompression at the height they were flying when decompression happened. A hole in the fuselage would do the same, caused by a bullet, or any sharp projectile.

[JimSEA]

Sounds odd but I don't really know enough to comment. However, some 30+ years ago, I was on a flight from Seattle to San Francisco that lost its compression. It was not drastic but the piolet immediatly took the plane down to a very low elevation and announced what the problem was. It was cold. There was no panic but everyone look like they were recovering from a devistating illness and were very happy getting off.

[HangnJudge]

Many hits same subject

Here

[COEXERJ145]

How does decompression occur?

A failure of the pressurization system or a failure in the air conditioning system can cause the aircraft's pressure to drop. Other slim but still possibilities would be a failure in the waste system or a failure in a small part of the fuselage due to previous damage or corrosion. Terrorist actions would have most likely left a hole in the aircraft large enough to be seen by the F-16's.

[tomahawk]

Thank you. It sounds like the air conditioning system may have been the culprit in this case.

[COEXERJ145]

It sounds like the air conditioning system may have been the culprit in this case.

That would be my guess. It has happened before so this wouldn't be the first time. The one that comes to mind was during the Boeing 777 test flight series, they were at 41,000 feet when a valve on the A/C system failed the aircraft quickly loss air pressure.

[oremites]

The only ones who thought or hoped it was terrorism were the media.

You should go back and check out the breaking threads on this incidents. There were plenty of Freepers who thought/hoped that this could be pinned on terrorists.

[longtermmemmory]

Greek TV is saying the plane was in for repairs last week, I just missed the exact details.

[longtermmemmory]

but Freepers go "thank God it was not terrorism"

the MSM go "Damn, it wasn't terrorism"

[SuziQ]

A transport official said the 115 passengers and six crew may have been dead when the plane went down.

I pray that this is true.

[zahal724]

I think that some of the passengers were conscious. One of them texted messaged a friend before it crashed saying that it was going down.

[ladyinred]

Terrorism, but it will be covered up. Sorry, but they never want us to know about terrorists on planes. Heck with public safety, it might hurt the airlines.